Ashland: Kevin Kane's family to throw one last Spring Fling

ASHLAND – After nearly 20 years, the Kane family is retiring Forever Young Spring Fling, but not before going out with a bang.

The 19th annual event in memory of Kevin Kane will take place Friday at 7 p.m. at the Portuguese Club in Milford. The event will feature a live band for the first time, as well as food, drink, raffle prizes, and a silent auction including a Tom Brady-signed Super Bowl LI football.

The annual event supports the Kevin Kane Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has given more than $120,000 to 116 students. The fund has been sustained mostly through the Spring Fling. People donate more than the Kanes know what to do with sometimes, according to Bernie Kane, Kevin's father.

"We've been blessed, that's all. Great friends. Great people. Great town, I'll tell you. When there's any type of adversity, they're right there," he said.

Kevin Kane is one of the most outsized figures in recent Ashland history, known for his tireless activism in proving that lingering pollution from the Nyanza dye plant caused cancer clusters. He died from such a cancer – angiosarcoma – in 1998, at the age of 26. In the last months of his life he pushed for a study of the cancer-causing effect of the pollution. In 2005, the Department of Public Health released a study that proved the pollution had caused clusters of rare cancer in town.

And his activism lives on. He was referenced often in the battle last year over a development adjacent the former dye plant, now a chemical landfill harboring 45,000 tons of toxic sludge.

"I like to think of his legacy as being instrumental in bringing attention to Nyanza," said Marie Kane, Kevin's mother, sitting in her living room Tuesday afternoon.

At the Portuguese Club, the Kanes are expected to host about 250 people. The Kanes will announce scholarship recipients from Ashland High School and Keefe Technical High School.

They'll also hand out the annual Courage Award, for young people in the area who, like Kevin, have dealt with similar struggles. The glass plaque given to the winner this year will be emblazoned with Kevin Kane's motto: "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."

The Kanes started the Memorial Fund with the first Spring Fling, about six months after Kevin died. While they agreed it's a good time to stop booking the event, they do so with mixed feelings.

"It is kind of crazy, it's still going after all these years. It's kind of a feel-good thing," said Marie Kane. "I'll miss it personally. I wasn't in favor of stopping it but I agree that it's time. It's sort of a bittersweet moment."

There's still time to purchase tickets or donate. Get in touch with the organizers at morice5831@comcast.net

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-626-3957 or wshaner@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.